PLANE MONEY FOR THE A.V. BUSH'S DEFENSE BUDGET TO HELP FUND B-2, F-35 AND F-22A PROJECTS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Modification money for the B-2 stealth bomber, the first purchases of the F-35 joint strike fighter A strike fighter is a fighter aircraft which is also capable of attacking surface targets, including ships. It differs from an attack aircraft in that the aircraft remains a capable fighter. , and stretching out production of the F-22A fighter are among the Antelope Valley-related projects in the president's proposed 2007 defense budget. President George W. Bush proposed a $493.3 billion defense budget that provides solid funding for projects that have either parts production or modification work at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. The proposed budget includes $415.5 million for B-2 stealth bomber modifications, primarily the upgrading of the bomber's radar equipment, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Pentagon budget documents. The budget request also includes $224.1 million for B-2 research and development work. Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector, the B-2 prime contractor, and principal subcontractor Raytheon will replace the bomber's radar with one that is more efficient and features lighter, cheaper and more reliable components. The upgraded radar will also be able to avoid potential interference with commercial signals. Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. will install and test the new radar systems on B-2 aircraft for initial demonstration and operational training. Operational testing (testing) operational testing - A US DoD term for testing performed by the end-user on software in its normal operating environment. will be conducted at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . Installation of the upgraded radar on all of the B-2 fleet is expected to run through 2011. The budget request includes $5.2 billion for the F-35, a multiservice aircraft under development. The request includes funding for buying the first five Air Force aircraft and money to begin production on 16 other planes - eight for the Air Force and eight for the Marine Corps. The F-35 is assembled by Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. in Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , but Northrop Grumman builts the center fuselages for the planes at its facilities in Palmdale. Several hundred people work on the program in Palmdale. The budget request also includes $504.5 million to buy six Global Hawk aircraft. The Global Hawk is an unmanned, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that is providing intelligence in the War on Terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism in the Middle East. The budget request includes $247.6 million for research and development on the Global Hawk. The request also shows funding for the F-22A fighter dropping from $4.2 billion this year to $2.7 billion as the Air Force stretches out the aircraft's production by two years, to 2010. The plan is to avoid a gap between the end of F-22A production and the arrival of the F-35s, thus keeping ``a warm tactical aircraft production line,'' according to a Pentagon budget document. Although the F-22A is assembled in Georgia, Lockheed Martin employs about 400 people on the program in Palmdale. Those workers built parts for the aircraft. On the downside On the Downside is an EP by the San Diego, California band Counterfit, released by Alphabet Records in 2000. It was the band's first EP, recorded shortly after the members had relocated to San Diego from Fairfield County, Connecticut. , the Pentagon is proposing to speed up retirement of the F-117A stealth fighter and the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. Stating that other aircraft can handle their missions, Defense Department officials are looking to save about $2 billion by retiring all 52 F-117s in 2008 and the U-2s by 2011. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. has modification and support functions for the F-117 and U-2 aircraft in Palmdale. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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